Cottage Grove council adopts updated fee schedule with targeted waivers and higher event fees

Cottage Grove’s City Council voted to adopt a revised comprehensive fee schedule (Resolution 2174) that raises several user fees and creates more explicit waiver procedures for nonprofits and residents, while approving targeted fee reductions for local users.

Public Works Director Stewart said the package seeks modest revenue to cover rising operating costs. “Staff has reviewed the fees from local golf courses and found Middlefield's fees were substantially lower than comparable courses,” he said, recommending an overall increase of about "approximately a 10% increase" with some individual adjustments.

Key changes approved by council: - Middleville golf fees: a general ~10% increase to better align with local comparables; one item (private cart storage) rises from $100 to $300 per month to cover electricity and charging costs and to build maintenance reserves; staff said the storage building contains 46 spaces. - Engineering fees: standardize previously variable in-house rates to a single 8% charge for contracted engineering on municipal projects. - Community center and armory: updated facility rental rates, equipment fees, and a new janitorial fee intended to help cover post-event custodial work; staff said custodial work for armory events takes "approximately 6 hours" and that a full cost recovery janitorial rate would be closer to $300 per event. - Saddle Span (downtown structure): routine use will remain supported by city set-up; staff recommended charging for special requests that require additional staff time (for example, installing a backdrop). - Fee-waiver process: the council asked staff to simplify waiver language so nonprofits (Group A) can apply for partial or complete waivers through a single application process; the resolution retains co-sponsorship as a path to a full waiver but clarifies the administrative process.

Councilor Irvin moved to adopt the resolution with amendments—changing "married couple" to "family" in annual golf rates, reducing park-application and special-event application fees to $0 for city residents (Group B) and nonprofits (Group A), and adjusting the nonresident cleaning fee. The motion was seconded and, after further discussion about custodial costs and resident discounts, the measure passed 6–1 (Councilor Lammerman opposed).

What the vote means: council prioritized keeping local access for residents and nonprofits while recovering a greater share of event-related costs from nonresidents and commercial users. Staff said the changes are intended to take effect in January and will be monitored in the next budget cycle to measure usage and revenue impacts.

At the meeting, staff emphasized implementation details will be published with the clean version of the resolution and that groups may apply for waivers under clarified procedures.